Hugh Jackman shared a big throwback. The actor posted a photo of himself when he was a baby, taken on the day of his baptism. The photo was sent to him by his mother, Grace, with whom he’d been estranged for some years.
The post features a black and white photo of Hugh and his grandmother. He was wearing the appropriate and no longer as common baptism attire, and was captured laughing openly. “My Mum sent this photo last week. Grandma Agnes dressing me for my Baptism. It was February 2, 1969. I will treasure it always,” he captioned the post.
Hugh Jackman experienced a traumatic childhood. When he was eight years old, his mother walked out on him and his family. In an interview with 60 Minutes, he spoke more about that moment and how it impacted the rest of his life. “I remember her being in a towel around her head and saying goodbye. [It] must have been the way she said goodbye. As I went off to school, when I came back, there was no one there in the house.” In an interview with Who magazine, Hugh explained that he saw his mother about once a year after she left and that it wasn’t until he was 12 or 13 that he understood that she wasn’t coming back for good.
While Hugh has been mending his relationship with his mother, it took him years to get to that point. He credits having children of his own, with the experience giving him the necessary empathy to make amends with his mother. “I am 43 now and we have definitely made our peace, which is important,” he said to The Sun. He “never felt my mum didn’t love me.”
Hugh Jackman is a prolific actor, having acting jobs that include musicals, action films, and dramas. He’s currently working on a variety of projects, including the biopic of Enzo Ferrari, where he’ll play Ferrari himself, and a movie titled “The Son,” co-starring Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Kirby.